Few things are more worrying than trusting somebody else with your money, but when you choose an accountant, you’re effectively doing just that.
Whether you need someone who can manage your personal affairs in a tax-efficient way or a specialist contractor accountant, there are a couple of useful ways to find a qualified accountant and safeguard your financial affairs.
Professional Memberships
A professional affiliation is a useful way to single out accountants who are in their careers for the long term.
The ICAEW—the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales—has existed since 1880 and has more than 138,000 members worldwide.
ACCA—the Association of Certified Chartered Accountants—is a global organisation with nearly 150,000 members. It was established in 1904, only slightly more recently than the ICAEW.
Meanwhile, for businesses, there’s CIMA—the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants—to help managers find an accountant qualified to advise them on strategy, spending, and commercial decision-making.
These organisations have rigorous entry requirements, including extensive exams, years of work experience, and mandatory continuing professional development (CPD).
This ensures their members stay updated with changes to tax rules and accounting regulations.
Depending on your needs, choosing an accountant from among the members of one of these organisations is a good way to make sure they meet certain standards of qualification and professionalism.
Other accounting organisations you may come across include:
ICAS (Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland) – The world’s first professional body of chartered accountants, ICAS represents and supports accountants primarily in Scotland but also has a global membership.
Chartered Accountants Ireland -The largest and oldest professional body for accountants in Ireland, Chartered Accountants Ireland serves members across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Association of International Accountants (AIA): An international professional body for accountants and finance professionals, offering the AIA professional qualification recognized in the UK and globally.
Institute of Financial Accountants (IFA): A professional accountancy membership body representing and providing certification for financial accountants in the UK.
Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT): A professional body for vocational accountants that provides qualifications and support for accounting technicians.
Is the firm qualified, or the individual?
It is worth noting that you may be assigned an account manager who isn’t qualified, but someone at the firm is.
For example, for many contractor-related accounting activities, a non-qualified manager is perfectly capable of completing a wide range of tasks.
However, only a qualified person at the firm can sign off on accounts or provide a mortgage reference, for example.
This is often the case in the contracting industry, where account production is more akin to a factory line—where clients’ accounts are relatively simple and similar to deal with.
You may need to pay a higher fee if you want your affairs handled by a qualified accountant, rather than an accounts manager.
If your needs are relatively complex, or you have other accounting needs – you may be better off seeking a more traditional accountancy firm, rather than a contractor specialist.
Specialist Insurance
No matter who you choose to work with, things can go wrong—and when they do, you’ll want to make sure you have some recourse.
This is where specialist insurance comes into play, and the main policy you’ll probably want to look out for is professional indemnity insurance or PI.
Professional accountants should have a PI policy in place. This means that if they give bad advice that costs a client money, they can repay the losses by claiming against their insurance.
Word of Mouth
Accountancy is a profession where word of mouth is particularly important, and a good accountant thrives on recommendations from happy customers.
If you know people who have been with the same accountant for a long time and have never had any problems, you might want to enlist their services for yourself. Remember to ask all the usual questions about qualifications and PI levels if you’re not 100% certain they’re right for you.
